Is there any new info on Superman 2 : SE?

I remember hearing a brief rumble as to Superman 2 being rereleased as a Special Edition early in the year, has anyone heard any new information on it? (a new cut, remix, any of the deleted scenes documented on the web?)

That rumble you heard was the sound wishful thinking from hundreds of fans makes when it drops in a forest with no-one around to hear it. As much as the contributors to various online forums wish it could be otherwise, no special edition of Superman 2 has been announced, or even mooted, by any studio to this date. Given the ill-feelings surrounding the production and the firing of Richard Donner from the project, I'd really be surprised if a Superman 2 S.E ever came to fruition at all.

I just returned from the year 2053 and no director's cut of Superman II was ever released, so you can give up hoping. Star Wars and Indiana Jones did finally make it to DVD (after one DVD format change), but not the original cuts that we all knew and loved, and there was considerable bitching as a result. Oh, and people were still clutching onto their precious THX Laserdisc versions like they were 78 RPM records.
Coolest technological breakthough: interactive theatrical movies that allow viewers to participate in the story and alter the outcome in limitless ways simply by shouting at the picture. Now when somebody says, "No! Turn around! The ghost is behind you!" the characters actually listen to you!

Film Export AG has already gotten on WB for doing stuff to the Superman films (despite them doing an excellent job on Superman: TM and good DVDs for the other three).

Also, keep in mind of the awful condition of the negative of the first Superman. Since most of the sequel was shot at the same time, I frankly wouldn't like to know what condition this film's negative is in.

Despite the bleakness due to legal and preservation problems, I think a "special edition" cut could be made. It can't possibly be 100% Donner since there is still some footage he never got to supervise, and it can't be 100% Lester since many cut/replaced shots are needed from the original shoot.

I'm not going to say anything for anyone, but Richard Lester might not have much of a problem with a re-editing of this film. It looks like he agreed to finish the film because the Salkinds owed him money.

Heck, I'd be happy just with a DVD with a "work print" version of the Donner version.

I do recall reading in an interview with Richard Donner that Warner actually asked him when they were readying the Superman DVDs to re-edit Superman II, and he declined. The gist of his reason was that it was a closed door in his past that he didn't feel like reopening. Hopefully someday he will change his mind.

I read somewhere (here on the Forum???) that there's not likely ever to be a "true" director's edition of the film because Mr. Brando's contract stipulates that he receive some kind of whopping royalty fee for the missing footage and that those royalties be retro-active, so that the longer the time between the shooting of his portions of the film and the actual release of that footage (in whatever medium) the ever greater the fees would be, just like with compounded interest.
Whether true or not, I do not know.

The matter of where Brando fits into all this still remains an enigma to me. Brando's suit against the Salkinds regarding Superman II grosses was ultimately settled, do doesn't that mean in effect he was already paid in full for services rendered on II despite none of his footage being used?

There is really only one Brando scene that needs to be restored IMO and that's the scene where Clark returns to the Fortress and gets his powers back. In a way I think it'd be more effective to leave Brando out of the rest of II and then just have him back in that one scene.

I was thinking of getting the Superman II DVD, but it doesn't have any extras and I've heard some disheartening things about the quality, though it is widescreen and anamorphic and is pretty cheap most places (around $14.99). Anyone have the DVD to comment on the picture quality?

It doesn't look like there's any need to wait for a Superman II special edition, so maybe I should just buy the current edition. It's a bummer though, because Superman: The Movie is such an amazing DVD.

I have the old vhs tape from tv from ABC with the extra 30 minutes or so that wasn't included in the theatrical cut. I'd love to at least have that footage on DVD. After growing up watching the tv tape, it makes the theatrical cut very naked.

After watching Superman The Movie on DVD Superman II is a bit lame. A soft dull transfer and a weak Dolby Surround track. I don't know why Warner didn't just remaster the video and sound even if they didn't want to include extras..

Actually, Donner reneged on it, and said that he'd do it if WB let him, and that he'd like to do it WITH Lester
Basically Warner is trying to figure out if pay8ing Brando his 3 million or so will be worth it. It's true it will NEVER be how Donner Imagined it, but it can be better!

The matter of where Brando fits into all this still remains an enigma to me. Brando's suit against the Salkinds regarding Superman II grosses was ultimately settled, do doesn't that mean in effect he was already paid in full for services rendered on II despite none of his footage being used?

I think Brando's lawsuit against the Salkinds had to do with royalties from the original Superman and nothing to do with Superman II.

The situation with his scenes in Superman II is unclear. From reading (many years ago) "The Making of Superman," I know that originally the two films were planned as one movie. From what I remember, it wasn't definitely decided until a ways into filming that they would break them into two movies to be released 6 months apart (which is why the original credit sequence ends with "Coming Soon: Superman II").

Since Brando's scenes were among the first shot, I would assume his contract said nothing about two movies. In his autobiography, "Songs My Mother Taught Me," Brando says, "I only had a small part in Superman, but since it was a popular movie and my contract gave me 11.3 percent of the gross, I made about $14 million for less than three weeks' work. When Alexander and Ilya Salkind, the producers, asked if they could use footage from the picture in a sequel, Superman II. I asked for my usual percentage, but they refused, and so did I."

So apparently there's no flat $3 million at stake, and I wouldn't think Brando would be entitled to anything from the theatrical gross of Superman II, but he would probably want his 11.3 percent of the home video gross.

Now, I'm quite a Brando fan, so don't anyone get all huffy about what seems to be a cold remark, but let's be realistic: Brando is almost 80 years old, and extremely fat. There are no fat 90-year-olds. This is just a fact of life. It's not going to be long before his objection to Superman II will no longer be an issue. But it remains to be seen whether Donner would be interested, and he's not getting any younger, either.